Illinois home foreclosures rank third in nation

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Illinois home foreclosures nearly double national average in June, study says

Illinois has the third highest number of foreclosures in the country, according to real estate data collection website RealtyTrac,

One in every 645 houses in the state were foreclosed on in June, compared to the national average of one in every 1,228 houses.

Though the national rate is the lowest it has been since last August, the rate in Illinois is up from May, though not the highest it has been since last August. Illinois saw increases in homes in pre-foreclosure, houses up for auction and houses owned by the bank since May, even as the U.S. saw decreases in all three areas. Nationwide., 0.08 percent of all houses were foreclosed on in June; in Illinois, 0.16 percent of all homes were foreclosed on in June, according to RealtyTrac:

Florida had the highest rate of foreclosures for June in the country, with one in every 409 homes foreclosed on. The state with the fewest foreclosures was Nebraska, with one in 113,887. Some of Illinois’ midwestern neighbors also did fare very well–Iowa had the fifth-highest foreclosures, with one in every 840. Indiana had one in every 995, Wisconsin had one in every 987, Missouri had one in every 2,865 and Kentucky had one in every 2,193. Ohio and Maryland helped round out the top-five states with the most foreclosures (including Florida, Iowa and Illinois). See every state’s foreclosure rate for June 2014 in this map from RealtyTrac:

Within Illinois, Will County had the most foreclosures in June, with one in every 259 homes. Kendall County (one in every 354), Lake County (one in every 399), McHenry County (one in every 433) and Kane County (one in every 456) followed in the top five.

This chart shows foreclosure trends in Illinois over the last year:

Romeoville (one in every 120 houses) had the most foreclosures of any city in Will County. Foreclosures there went up 4,800 percent from May to June, according to RealtyTrac. Plano (one in every 165, or 0.31 percent of homes there) had the most foreclosures in Kendall County. In Lake County, Round Lake had the most foreclosures, with one in every 199. In McHenry County, there was one foreclosure for every 260 houses in Spring Grove, the most for that county. Kane County’s Carpentersville had one foreclosure for every 248 houses.

Cook County had one in every 523 homes foreclosed on, while the city of Chicago had one in every 681. Click on the map to see foreclosure information detailed by zip code:

Other cities in Illinois also saw foreclosures in June: Springfield had one in every 3,780, Rockford had one in every 427, Peoria had one in 1,716, Decatur had one in every 2,127, Rock Island had one in every 752, Carbondale had one in every 2,195, Bloomington had one in every 10,734, Mount Vernon had had one in every 2,267.

In Illinois, foreclosure laws are governed by 735 ILCS 5/Art XV. According to foreclosure.com, Illinois’ mortgage laws fall under the lien theory, which means “the property acts as security for the underlying loan,” so when the loan payments (the mortgage) is not fulfilled, the property for which the loan was issued fulfills the debt–the bank that issued the mortgage can take possession of the property. Mortgage lenders, usually banks, can begin a judicial foreclosure proceeding by telling a court that the borrower is not honoring their loan. If applicable, the court then issues a ruling that says the lender may begin the foreclosure process, which can end in the property being sold at auction or the lender taking ownership of the house.

Generally, a full foreclosure process in Illinois would take approximately 215 days to complete. According to foreclosure.com, homeowners have the opportunity to reclaim houses on which the foreclosure process has started within 90 days, if they can reinstate the defaulted mortgage. If a foreclosed house is sold at auction, the owners have only 30 days to leave the property.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s website offers advice to homeowners facing possible foreclosure: people who are concerned about the foreclosure of their homes can call the office for free advice. The office also advises homeowners to keep records of all of their finances and to be cautious of scams that require payment for help saving foreclosed homes.

The site also reminds homeowners that they have the right to live in and own their home until a judge rules that the foreclosure process will begin. Homeowners also have the right to pay off overdue payments and/or sell the home to pay off the mortgage during the period after foreclosure.

Information from the Attorney General’s site says that banks and lenders want to find a way to avoid foreclosure almost as much as homeowners. It advises people behind on mortgage payments to contact their lender as early as possible and working together to find a way to allow them to stay in their home.

Caitlin Wilson is a staff writer for Reboot Illinois. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago, where she studied journalism and political science. Caitlin has become both endeared to and frustrated with her adopted home state and wants to bring Illinoisans the information they need to actively participate in the politics that directly affect them. You can find Reboot on Facebook here and on Twitter at @rebootillinois.